The Maid
by Bullet2tm
Summary: AU. Sakura is one of the best maid's in Konoha. She is hired by the millionaire Mr Sabaku who owns a manor by the beach. She hates him straight away. He wants to fire her, however, can't bring himself to send her away, despite her annoying habits.GxS.
1. Chapter 1: Meet the Master

**A/N: **_Hi everyone. A new story...I KNOW!!! I have to finish my other stories, but, alas, I couldn't help myself. Also, please don't kill me for the god awful and unoriginal name of the 'cleaning' agency Sakura comes from hee hee._

**The Maid**

**Chapter 1: Meet the Master**

* * *

Haruno Sakura was one of the best maids in town. Her record of efficiency and cleanliness was envied by pretty much the whole agency (which hired out maids to employers). The success she'd had over the past five years had earned her an interview at the Manor by the beach. The pay was going to be good, but, the rumours that had spread throughout the agency about the place she was walking to right now had deterred her a little. Maid's hardly stayed there long enough for them to get their first pay packet, and they didn't collect what money they had earned either. Finally the first assistant to the owner of the Manor decided to hire the best of the best through the well sort out maid agency, called The Cleaners (motto: we clean best).

So here she was, walking up the white stoned pathway to the front entrance. Her long pink hair tied into a high pony tail. She was beginning to get nervous now.

"It's okay Sakura, it'll be fine," she reassured herself, upon looking at the vastness of the manor.

**Yeah right! This is the biggest job we've ever been on!!! **thought her Inner self.

The pinkette calmed herself down and breathed in slightly before knocking on the large oak doors of the manor. She could tell from the door that who ever owned the manor was filthy rich, even touching the door with her bare hands felt like touching money; money she would _never_ be able to have.

A few seconds passed and the doors opened to reveal a timid young girl - the same age as Sakura herself, if she could guess. Her eyes were beautifully white, and her hair crisp, jet black and short.

"Y-yes?" the girl asked timidly. Sakura frowned, noticing that the girl in front of her had a maid's uniform on.

Sakura smiled gently, nodding in acknowledgement. "My name is Sakura, I'm here for the new job."

It took a few seconds for the girl to react, something seemed to have her attention. Sakura cleared her throat (unnoticeably).

"O-oh yes, please come in and follow me," said the girl; stepping out of the way for Sakura to move inside.

They must have been walking for a couple of minutes - through the front lobby (which was spectacular), down some halls, up a stair case and now down another hall. It was hard for the pink haired woman to keep up and feared that she would be lost forever in this maze of a manor. "What's your name?" asked Sakura suddenly.

The girl stopped for a moment and glanced back at her. "H-hinata," she said simply.

"Well, Hinata, how do you remember your way around?" asked Sakura, as they continued to walk down a particularly well decorated hall. There were lines of painted portraits and pictures, as well as the odd standing statue. The roof was obviously hand painted and was equally spectacular; depicting some sort of war with what seemed to be demons.

Hinata stopped for a moment, and smiled slightly. "It was hand painted by a famous artist, Mr Sabaku always has the best," said Hinata smiling, drawing Sakura's gaze back down to earth. "And I only know these halls because I've worked here for so long, you'll get used to it I'm sure, well, that is if you stay that long."

Sakura nodded.

A few minutes later, Hinata stopped outside some large double doors. There were two marble statues either side, welcoming those who _dared_ enter, Sakura surmised in her mind.

"I have to leave you here, but Mr Sabaku's first assistant will greet you," said Hinata, smiling kindly. She turned around, opened the doors and disappeared for a few seconds before coming right back and; venturing back the way they had come.

Sakura watched the girl leave and sighed, looking back to the large double doors. She looked around for a seat, but was disappointed. Her attention then went to a picture, similar to the paintings on the ceiling. _Weird..._ she thought, but was interrupted as the doors behind her opened suddenly. She turned and placed her hands behind her back elegantly.

A blonde haired young woman stood in the archway, with an odd look on her face; almost as if she was judging Sakura with scrutiny. She wore a black suit skirt and jacket, black stockings and a red tie. Her hair was tied up in four pony tails at the back.

"Are you Sakura?" asked the woman, whose eyes had now rested on Sakura's hair.

"Y-yes," stammered Sakura.

"Come with me, you are to meet Mr Sabaku, but first I must worn you..." she began, turning. Sakura had to stop at a halt, as she had expected the girl to move. "...a lot of girls have quit of late."

Sakura nodded. "I had heard."

The girl frowned at this. "Then why did you take the job?" she asked.

"I don't believe rumours and its not my way just to quit when things get too hard," explained Sakura. "In fact, I was intrigued and wanted to see for myself what all these rumours were actually about."

The girl chuckled. "Well, I can see why your agency recommended you, however, your work will _also_ prove what they say."

Sakura nodded politely.

"My name is Temari, I am Mr Sabaku's personal assistant. We are heading to his office now, but I'll just explain where you will be in charge of cleaning," she explained, looking to Sakura sternly as she walked.

Sakura nodded; walking briskly behind Temari.

"Your area is upstairs, which is Mr Sabaku's main work area. It is also his chambers, which is why we chose you for the job; you're known for your quiet, yet, quick work, yes?" she explained.

Sakura again nodded. "Of course."

"Good. He doesn't like to be disturbed, especially during meetings...in fact, best not speak to him unless he speaks to you. That's probably where the others went wrong," explained Temari.

They walked up a few flights of stairs (made of marble, Sakura noticed) and down some more halls.

"Also, there's one other thing...ah, we're here, I'll explain everything else later, Sakura."

Temari nodded toward a figure standing outside the door. He wore a black suit and orange tie and his hair was messy and blonde. "Naruto, show the girl in." The man nodded and looked to Sakura, he smiled gingerly.

Sakura smiled back and walked toward the door he was guarding. She noticed he had a few scars on his face, almost as if a large cat had scratched him either side on his cheeks. However, there was something handsome about his face, despite this. He was quite young too, as was Temari, which greatly intrigued the pinkette. She had come to this job, expecting older colleagues, but perhaps this man liked them young?

She looked back to Temari hesitantly, but she simply turned and walked in the other direction; just as Hinata had done. Was this 'boss' of hers really that horrible?

"Good luck," said Naruto, winking, as he opened the large red oak doors.

Sakura stepped in with Naruto to find a darkened room, with a blistering fire to the left side. The doors closed behind her and Naruto came and stood next to a large mahogany desk. The office chair was facing the other way, so she had yet to see this _mysterious_ owner of the manor.

"Sit," said a deep, serious voice.

Sakura obeyed and sat in a chair opposite whom had spoke. Her slender hands began to get clammy and her anxiousness set in entirely. She began to fiddle with her skirt and looked at Naruto nervously. He appeared to be whispering to whom ever was sitting in the large office chair.

Suddenly the chair turned with a squeak and a young man was revealed. He had blood red spikey hair, piercing jade colored eyes and a thick line of what appeared to be mascara that lined them. He was handsome looking, but his demeanor told her that he was a cold man; someone not to be trifled with. He was also wearing a suit - and it was expensive looking too - with his suit jacket the only thing missing. This seriously surprised Sakura in more ways than one. First of all, she thought that it would be an old coot that would be the owner of this _spectacular _manor she had just walked through, not this handsome young man before her. And secondly, how could a man of his age own and earn as much as he does and afford to hire many employees? She had seen a few other maids in the kitchen and around various spots in the manor as she walked past with Temari earlier. However, none were upstairs whatsoever.

His jade orbs studied her and she felt very small all of a sudden.

"What is your name?" he asked in a deep voice.

His voice was demeaning and cold; deep and cool.

Sakura kept looking at him, unable to find words to even utter.

"Hn. Is she mute?" asked the man, turning to his blonde body guard.

Naruto laughed. "No, you're probably just scaring her, Gaara," explained Naruto, earning narrowed eyes from Gaara.

This comment seemed to cut deep for Sakura, as she began to get really angry.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," she said in a clipped tone, interrupting the two men's conversation. "I'm not _mute_."

This caused Gaara to look up; he didn't seem at all surprised, however, Naruto could see that her tone was one he wasn't used to. Not many people spoke to Gaara like that and lived.

"Good, I was beginning to think I made a mistake in hiring you," he said evenly.

Sakura nodded. _Would he really fire someone for being mute?_ she thought to herself as she studied Gaara's face further. _Yeah, he would._

"Okay Sakura, lets get you settled into your quarters," said Naruto, trying steer Gaara away from firing yet another girl.

Naruto walked toward the door and motioned for Sakura to follow. She did so, getting up with one last glance at her employer before leaving. She walked out the door before Naruto.

The blonde looked back at Gaara shaking his head and walked out; leaving Gaara alone in his thoughts. He looked toward the fire, letting the flames dance about his jade orbs whilst deep in thought..

* * *

"Here we are," said Naruto, opening the door for Sakura.

The pinkette frowned.

"Um, I wasn't aware I would be staying in the manor," said Sakura, glancing back toward the bodyguard.

"Well, do you have better options?" he asked, not thinking about how it came out.

She looked taken aback and sighed. "I-I guess not," she said softly, thinking of her small one room unit as she walked into the lavish bedroom that had been appointed to her.

A queen sized four poster bed sat in front of the back wall of green and white silk color. The creme walls and various statues and ornaments that filled the room showed to her how crap her life was before now. It was too much...could she really stay here?

She looked back to Naruto and she could see he was studying her with curiosity. "What?" she asked boldly.

"So you _will_ be staying here then," he said with a cheesy smile.

"I will have to get my things..." began Sakura.

"Don't worry, I think Temari already organised for your things to be delivered here," said Naruto, scratching the back of his head, trying to remember.

She raised one eyebrow. _The nerve of these people! _But instead of saying it out aloud, she simply nodded politely.

"There you are Naruto!" exclaimed someone angrily from behind him, he turned suddenly with wide, scared eyes. "Temari..." began Naruto.

"Don't start," said the stern woman whom was the person who had taken Sakura to the employers office earlier. "Get back to Gaara's office!"

Naruto nodded quickly and left. Finally the woman looked to the girl and sighed. "Well, at least he did something right and showed you to your quarters...I had to tell you some more things before I let you settle in," said Temari, straight to business.

Sakura nodded, trying to ignore the splendor of her new room.

"You'll be starting work tomorrow, 7.30am sharp. You'll need to dust, sweep and mop the tiled and floor boards and vacuum the carpets, you'll also need to-" began Temari, reading off a list from a clip board, however, Sakura interrupted.

"You forget, Temari-san, I'm a maid. I'll clean everything, don't worry," smiled Sakura.

The blonde smirked. "Good. What I was going to say before we got to Mr Sabaku's office is that you are staying on the same level as Mr Sabaku, please keep to yourself and also Mr Sabaku won't be in his bedroom at 10.00am onwards, so that is when you'll do his room," said Temari, her demeanor becoming serious and pointed. "For your own sake."

Temari then showed her around the upper level into each room so that Sakura could be familiarized with where she had to clean. There was an entertainment room, a library and three bathrooms on the upper floor. Mr Sabaku had his own bathroom of course and apparently didn't even _use _the entertainment room which, by the way, featured a LCD screen as big as the wall almost!

After the small tour, Temari left Sakura to her own devices.

* * *

Sakura woke with sunlight shining in her eyes. _Damn, forgot to pull the curtains closed, _thought Sakura. Her eyes adjusted to the light to realise where she was._ This has got to be a dream...this room is unbelieveable!_

She looked to her watch which was sitting on an ornate oak side table. It was 7.00am. _Shit!_

Ten minutes later, she was rummaging through her things that had obviously been brought to her room early that morning. She then realised that she really didn't have a lot of clothes, and the clothes she did have would only do for a week.

Finally, she found a medium length black skirt and white tank top and quickly got to work.

*

A few hours later, all the bedrooms and bathrooms were done, except one. Mr Sabaku's bedroom. Sakura looked to her watch and frowned. _Well, its definitely after 10.00am,_ she thought hesitantly. And then continued into the room. She knocked first, with no answer, so she walked in.

Sakura's eyes widened at the state of his room. Clothes on the floor, his bedding all over the place, bits of rubbish on the floor. She walked further into the room and gasped at a huge stain on his floor which was obviously from some sort of food.

"Oh my god, who ever this Mr Sabaku is, he's a big fat messy pig!" she exclaimed to herself. "What kind of man lives in this pig sty? Mr Sabaku, thats who!!"

"Hn." Sakura gasped to find that Mr Sabaku was standing in his walk in wardrobe, looking at the new maid with narrowed eyes.

_What the...I thought Temari said that he wasn't in his room at this hour?_ she thought. _Great, I'm going to lose my job on my first day! That has got to be a record..._

"I-I'm very sorry, Mr Sabaku...I-I thought that you...T-Temari-san said that..." began Sakura, bowing her head respectfully.

"Enough," he said in a deep voice. "I was just changing my tie."

He walked closer toward Sakura before turning off to go back out the door, but not before turning to look at her. His face was unreadable, but she could tell he was studying her. Finally he spoke. "I don't choose to live this way, but I have no time for cleaning...that's your job," he said snidely and rudely, before walking out the door and closing it behind him.

Sakura was left to stare after the cold master of the manor with anger. She shook off the feeling of wanting to strangle her employer and continued her duties, starting with the bed. She stripped it and threw it out in the hall. She walked over to her cleaning trolley (which had been shown to her the previous day, by Temari) and pulled out carpet cleaning materials.

A few minutes later, the stain was no where to be seen. Next she dusted, which took her ten minutes and finally she vacuumed. After finishing Mr Sabaku's room, she walked to the door, only to turn around and admire her work.

It was beautifully clean. She had even hung up Mr Sabaku's clothes and rearranged the wardrobe completely, placing his shoes neatly at the bottom. She smiled to herself and put the linen to be washed under the trolley (where other linen was in there to be washed also).

At about 12.00pm, Sakura had finished washing the linen from all the beds and had placed them on each bed (a total of three beds). It was a job well done.

"Sakura!" exclaimed someone from behind her. She turned to see Naruto running toward her, his orange tie flapping over his left shoulder as he ran. She turned and smiled politely.

"Hello Naruto, is something wrong?" asked Sakura, slightly concerned. She feared that she was going to get fired from the way she had spoken about Gaara.

"No, but Temari just told me to let you know that lunch is at 12.00, which is like..." began Naruto, but stopped to look at his watch. "...now. Come on!"

Sakura sighed. Her first day, and she still wasn't used to living in this odd manor. There were so many interesting paintings and statues everywhere and the place was such a maze, it made her head spin. And to top it off, she decided that she _hated _her employer with a passion.

* * *

**A/N: **_I thought I better stop there as there is more I wanted to write, however, this chapter is probably already too long. Lol. Please review and tell me if you like it or don't like it. Thanks._

_Bullet2tm_


	2. Chapter 2: Humiliation

**A/N: **_Hi there. Another chapter for this one as I'm in the mood for it and I had good feed back!! I love feed back, please keep it coming. Enjoy._

**The Maid**

**Chapter 2: Humiliation  
**

* * *

The next few days passed quite quickly and the only thing that was bothering Sakura was her wardrobe, which was starting to become a problem. She needed clothes desperately and was wearing her clothes two days in a row, then washing every three days. No one had noticed so far, so she couldn't complain, however, it would have satisfied Sakura to have a few more clothes to choose from. So far, she hadn't been paid yet, so therefore she didn't have the money.

She had met a few of the other maid's, cooks and security personnel and they seemed like great people to get to know. Naruto, which she knew, was a good person, he was friendly, funny, goofy and she had a suspicion that he was interested in Hinata (it was definitely the other way around). The girls were mostly nice. So far she had met TenTen, who was part of the security personnel, Hinata, a maid (she had met at the beginning) and Temari, Gaara's personal assistant(hard, bossy woman, but nice once you get to know her) and Ino, one of the cooks/caterers and designers (pretty, but very friendly).

She had met most of the security personnel which consisted of Kiba (who was friendly enough), Shino (didn't talk much), Lee (goofy looking, but seemed to be a little bit _too_ interested in Sakura), Naruto (Head of Security - she'd met before, however, he was down to earth), Choji (ate a lot, and seemed to read his comics more than actually guard the place), Neji (far too interested in working than talking and also keeping an eye on Hinata, whom Sakura suspected was related to her) and Shikamaru (the laziest person she'd ever met).

They were nice enough, but she got a vibe that most of them were scared of their employer. Gaara. What was so scary about him? He was just arrogant and cold, that's about it.

These thoughts were going through her mind as she was finishing up her cleaning for the day, then she was free to do as she pleased. The last task left now was to wash the sheets, but as she was walking past one of the rooms, something really stood out.

_There's that entertainment room again...completely empty...he **never** uses it,_ she thought to herself as she stood outside the door with her trolley in hand, but her eyes were on the large television screen that had dust hanging off it (before Sakura had turned up). _Well, I better clean it and turn it on to make sure it works...oh I really wanna use that huge TV!._

Sakura looked left and right and listened to see if anyone was coming - Gaara seemed to walk around and surprise her at the best of times when he wasn't _supposed _to be around. She grabbed a duster and walked into the room.

She went up to the television and spotted the overly large remote sitting idly on an elegant coffee table in front. She ran and jumped onto the large florally decorated couch with a small shout of joy, then turned on the television.

The black screen came to life and displayed pictures with such...such digital clearness! Oh, the joy!

The show that was on seemed to be some romantic old classic (which is what normally would be on at that time of day), but it just happened to be one she liked.

_"Oh, the pain!" exclaimed a woman with a fuzzy sort of sound, as all classic movies seemed to have. "I have to be with you, Carl, I must!"_

_"We can't...we've had our fun, now, its over," said a man, clearly not wanting to say these words, but he must. _

_"Y-you can't mean that!"_

Sakura was so intrigued and into the movie, she didn't notice a figure come into the room and sit down next to her until she felt the couch go up a bit on her side. She turned and gasped in fright.

"H-hello," said Sakura, smiling awkwardly. "O-oh wait...this is the best part!" she nudged Gaara slightly, urging him to watch the screen.

_"I-I don't but this can't be...I..." began the man, but the woman dashed over toward him and they kissed passionately. _

"What is this movie?" asked Mr Sabaku, in a deep voice, his jade orbs focused on the screen as well.

"Love Divided," said Sakura bravely. Her heart rate was up, but was starting to relax seeing as Gaara seemed not to care.

"Why..." began Gaara but was interrupted.

"It's one of my favourite classics!" began Sakura merrily, however, this time she was interrupted.

"That was...different," said Gaara frowning.

Sakura paused and her eye brows furrowed. "Yes, you're probably not used to watching television with a maid, I guess," said Sakura lightly smiling.

"No, you interrupted me and I'm not angry," said Gaara. "Which means you still have a job."

Sakura merely gulped internally, but still didn't look to Gaara for fear of actually being fired.

"Hn. You know...I really will get angry at you one day," he said, without emotion shown, his eyes still focused on the large television screen.

They continued to watch for a few moments before Gaara scoffed at the man on the screen whom gave into his desires, despite the consequences.

"Hn, typical," he said.

"They're in love, why wouldn't they do something like that?" asked Sakura.

The red head shook his head slightly at the movie. "He just explained as to why they couldn't be together, and then he does it anyway, despite what could occur later. Life doesn't stop because people are in love, there is no such thing."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?"

"There is no love in this world," he said, before getting up.

Sakura turned to look at Gaara as he got up silently and left.

* * *

Gaara walked down the hall toward his bedroom, when he had heard some sounds coming from the entertainment room. He frowned at this and decided to investigate. As he neared the almost unused room, he stumbled upon a sight. It was the new maid, Sakura. She was sitting on the end of the couch, perked up with joy, the poor girl obviously wasn't used to luxury, that's for sure. That, and he had noticed she had been wearing the same clothes two days in a row.

Intrigued by her reaction to him knowing she was using this room without permission, he walked in and sat down next to her. He smirked slightly and focused his eyes on the screen.

"H-hello," he heard her say, but he didn't look at her. For some reason, he dared not. She was beautiful, and that was a problem. "O-oh wait...this is the best part!" The girl touched his arm, and something sturred within him, but he didn't alert her to that fact, and ignored it.

Why wasn't he angered? Why didn't he have the very longing urge to fire her, like all the others? In fact, he was very calm and felt nothing at all...he feared that he actually _liked_ sitting here. However, his work didn't allow most of the time, which is the reason for the abandoned room.

"What is this movie?" he asked suddenly.

"Love divided," Sakura said.

"What..." began Gaara, but the girl interrupted him.

"It's one of my favourite classics!" exclaimed the girl happily. He couldn't believe it, the gall of this woman! She was a mere maid and here he was, the employer and owner of the mansion she was currently working and staying in, being interrupted by said woman. However, he _still_ wasn't angry enough to fire her.

"That...was different," said Gaara, hardly believing what had just occurred. He still hadn't fired her.

"Yes, you're probably not used to watching television with a maid, I guess," said Sakura lightly smiling.

"No, you interrupted me and I'm not angry," said Gaara, still frowning in disbelief. "Which means that you still have a job." Silence filled the room and Gaara finally looked at the pink haired maid.

"Hn. You know...I really will get angry at you one day," he said, before getting up. He had to leave quickly before he thought about the whole situation more, however, he was intrigued by the movie, he continued to watch as the man explained as to why the woman and himself couldn't be together, but went and gave into his desires anyway. How ridiculous! If it were him, he would have cut his losses and continued on; ignoring the woman.

"Hn, typical," he scoffed, earning his employees attention.

"They're in love, why wouldn't they do something like that?" asked the girl beside him.

The red head shook his head slightly in disgust. "He just explained as to why they couldn't be together, and then he gives in anyway, despite what could occur later. Life doesn't stop because people are in love, there is no such thing."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?"

"There is no such thing as true love," he said, before getting up before he really got mad. That's why he didn't watch television much, it was full of crap.

Sakura turned to look at Gaara as he got up silently and left. Besides, Temari was going to complain soon as he was late for an important meeting.

Gaara placed his hands in his pockets as he walked toward one of his conference rooms. He looked at his watch. _Yes, they'll be here soon,_ he thought.

Temari was already there setting the room up. "You're late, Gaara...what kept you?" she asked curiously.

Gaara would usually sternly tell her to shut the hell up, but he seemed too placid to be angry or annoyed with her. It shocked him so much, he didn't say a word. He merely sat down at the head of the table and poured a glass of water with no emotion. "Send Naruto to me," he said in a deep authoritive voice that no man would ever question. Not even Temari.

The blonde nodded, frowning a bit in curiosity, before leaving.

*

Sakura sighed as she waited for the laundry to finish tumble drying. "Hey Sakura," said a friendly voice.

It was Ino. Sakura smiled and waved at her new friend whom was standing in the doorway. "Hello Ino, what are you doing all the way down here?" asked Sakura.

"Well, I was passing by, when I saw Shikamaru sleeping in the hallway," said Ino, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, that guy pisses me off. I just don't understand why Mr Sabaku doesn't fire his ass, he's so lazy!"

Sakura sighed. _Here we go again with one of her rants_, thought Sakura. Suddenly the machine in front of her beeped and stopped. The maid got up, opened the door to the dryer and started putting all the dried sheets into her trolley bag to go back upstairs.

"So how do you like working up _there_," asked Ino, pointing an index finger toward the ceiling, with one hand on her slender hip. She really was a pretty girl, but Sakura often wondered what she saw in that lazy Shikamaru as it wasn't half obvious that her rants about how much Ino disliked him was actually a cover for how much she _did_ like him.

"Why? Do you not like Mr Sabaku?" asked Sakura, curiously, trying to figure out what Ino actually thought of Gaara.

Ino hesitated and looked around to make sure no one was coming or was around to listen. Finally she looked back to Sakura, her blue irises connecting with Sakura's green ones. "He...he's scary, don't you think?" asked Ino.

Sakura scoffed and laughed a bit. "Hmm, not really. He's intolerable and selfish and rude and a whole lot of things, but scary...no I wouldn't say that Ino," laughed Sakura.

Ino looked at Sakura curiously before smiling. "Well, you must be one of the lucky one's Sakura, especially because of the fact you've lasted longer than the rest," explained Ino, before moving closer to Sakura and whispering quietly. "I've seen girls come down here crying and shivering in fear because of _him. _I know you might think he fired most of them, but, they actually _quit_."

Sakura's questions had been answered partially. But what was it about Gaara that scared them so? She just couldn't see it. Most rich men like him were arrogant, rude and intolerable, but scary would be a bit of an over-statement. However, was it really her business? No, this was her job after all.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt Sakura, but Gaara wants to see you," said Naruto, who popped his head around the corner.

Ino narrowed her eyes at the blonde and Naruto pulled his head back quickly before getting an earfull from her. Sakura grabbed the rest of the laundry and followed the Head of Security obediently.

*

A few minutes later they arrived and Naruto took his place standing against the wall behind Gaara. Sakura walked through into the conference room to see mostly unfamiliar faces, except for Gaara's and Temari's. Temari was arguing with a man with an expensive suit, grey slicked back hair and glasses; whom was sitting in the middle of the conference room table and Gaara was sitting back in a leather chair, rubbing his temples with what seemed to be boredom, but as soon as he saw Sakura he looked to her pointedly and re-positioned himself as he raised his arm to get her attention.

She walked over, and noticed a few of the men kept staring at her. She looked to Gaara, but he seemed not to notice.

"Sakura, I think its time for some drinks," said Gaara stoicly, looking around the table quickly. "Get them what they want, I'd like some more water."

Sakura nodded obediently, before smiling at Naruto who seemed to be slightly surprised by Gaara's request. She went around the table and got some orders and left quickly.

Sakura ran down the hall, down the stairs through another hall and then down some more stairs until she reached the kitchen. She was about to knock on the white door with a circular window at the top when the door swung outwards, nearly hitting her.

"Sakura?" asked the blonde woman, whom was obviously getting ready to serve lunch for most of Gaara's employees. Ino was holding a tray with a few jugs of water with ease, and it wasn't even wobbling, however, she was eying Sakura up and down.

Sakura smiled. "I-I need a jug of water, two orange juices and a brandy with ice," she said quickly.

Ino frowned. "Really? Why? And didn't you wear that yesterday?" asked Ino, asking three questions very quickly.

The pinkette blushed and looked around nervously. "Um, no, I...I have similar clothing that's all," she stuttered, but what Ino had said was true. She had worn the same clothes, but she had been for the entire week, had people actually noticed?

_Of course they did,_ she thought.

"Hn. Yeah, right. I can see that you have really struck a bonus working here, your wardrobe says it all, but luckily for you _I_ am an expert when it comes to clothes! I tell you what, a couple of us are going to town tomorrow after work, why don't you come and we'll get you some clothes?" explained Ino, transferring the tray she was holding to the other hand.

Sakura was so embarrassed right now and she didn't have the money as she hadn't been paid yet. "I don't have the money, I haven't been paid..."

"Don't worry about that, Sakura, we get paid at the end of next week and I'll just pay for you and you can just pay me back when you get paid," smiled Ino.

_What a lifesaver,_ thought Sakura, as she nodded, accepting Ino's invitation. Ino smiled. "Now, about those drinks..." began Ino as she turned and walked back into the kitchen.

Sakura followed and found that even the kitchen was spectacular. Everything was new looking with the benches being charcoal colored marble, the stove tops being stainless steel, there were several massive silver fridges and the color scheme of the room was creme, with more art compilations on the ceiling, which was again of the same type of thing as in the halls and lobby.

Sakura walked over to Ino whom was preparing the drinks she asked for. The blonde had already put most of them on a tray for her, with only the brandy left. Ino went over to a small cupboard and opened it to reveal a whole array of different types of alcohol bottles. She pulled out the one Sakura had asked for and grabbed a small glass, placing ice in the bottom. She poured the alcohol with such expertise, Sakura stared at her in awe.

"Ha, I've done this for a while, can you tell?" asked Ino, slightly amused at Sakura's gaze.

She nodded and held out her arms ready for the tray as Ino brought it over.

"Right, I'm serving lunch, I'll assume that you'll be a bit late...I'll save you some of the profiteroles then," winked Ino before walking out with the original tray she had.

Sakura watched Ino walk out and wondered where she got the money for all her clothes; she wore a different outfit every day (and they were always nice too, i.e. the purple skirt and black sequined halter neck top that she wore today). Were they really able to wear things like that without getting in trouble? Apparently so.

She quickly made her way back to the conference room where Gaara was still in the same position, however, Naruto seemed to be in the conversation with Temari. Sakura quickly walked over and distributed the drinks, however, when she gave out the last one, being the brandy, the man grabbed her arm. Not tightly, but pointedly.

"Thanks, sweet heart, you better stick around, I might need something else to drink," winked the man. Sakura tried not to make a disgusted face, but she could feel her anger rising. _What a sleaze bag!_ she thought. For a start, the man wasn't even attractive, he was middle aged, had a moustache, olive skin and wore an expensive suit (as did most of them), that was slightly too tight for him. She pushed his arm off of hers.

"Exc-" she began, but was interrupted

"Mr Roshi, do not to extend your sleaze to my staff," said Gaara, whose voice pierced through all conversation. He narrowed his eyes at the man dangerously.

The man named Mr Roshi nodded quickly, before slinking back into his arm chair, he looked worried too.

Sakura walked out of the room quickly before she exploded; she felt utterly humiliated and embarrassed. She didn't even bother to look at Gaara or anyone as she left.

What a horrible day!

She ran down to the dining room quickly for lunch and continued on with her duties.

* * *

Sakura had finished quite early again and decided to go back to the entertainment room to watch some television, this time a different movie was on.

"I thought I'd find you here," said a cold voice from behind her.

"Gaara?" she asked, forgetting her place.

Gaara frowned and cleared his throat. "Mr Sabaku."

"Oh, of course, Mr Sabaku," said Sakura apologetically. "You want to watch?"

"No...I know that our first conversation was short at the beginning of the week when you first started here, however, I did want to touch on something...your clothing," said Gaara, looking Sakura up and down with scrutiny.

Sakura was getting that embarrassing/humiliating feeling again, and of course, she was starting to get defensive.

"Sorry...what?" asked Sakura, narrowing her eyes at her employer.

"Your clothing, I've noticed, as I'm sure the rest of my staff have noticed, that you have been wearing your clothing several times a week. I would have expected that to be one of the questions you should have asked earlier," said Gaara, narrowing his eyes to equal Sakura's."And something decent would be more appropriate."

"I-sorry what?! This is decent!" exclaimed Sakura, now getting off of the couch and standing a few metres away from Gaara's tall form. She looked up at him with a determined expression as she couldn't _believe_ the audacity of this man.

Gaara again looked her once over and shook his head.

"So...you knew..." began Sakura.

Gaara nodded. "Of course, I was waiting for you to feel ridiculous enough to do something about it," said Gaara evenly.

Sakura's eyes widened, so, that's why he called for her to come and serve drinks to his _work colleagues_.

"I see, so that's why you got me to serve drinks today at your meeting," said Sakura softly, now realising her stupidity.

Gaara didn't speak straight away, however, chose to use his words carefully. He rarely said anything useless, as he chose make his words count.

"Yes."

"I...I can't believe you!" yelled Sakura. "Why? So you could show me off to all your rich friends? Isn't it enough that I have a job as a lowly maid, you have to rub it in more? I suppose you set Mr Roshi up to staring at me and touching me like that, just to inflate your oversized ego!"

Sakura began to walk out, however, before she left, she turned and said just one thing. "You _disgust _me!"

She ran down the hall to her bedroom and didn't let any tears fall until she was out of range. She was fired, that was for sure, but she couldn't just let him get away with what he did...or maybe she should have. It's not like she hadn't heard of this situation before, many maids from the company she worked for had said that rich people like that would degrade you because of how lowly they were, but you just put up with it and moved on. After all, it was just a job, and the jobs that are situated in mansions for rich people were usually _well_ paid for. Who was she to question that? She was Sakura, and she always had to stuff things up.

_"Mama...please!"_

Sakura shook her head from her thoughts and placed her face in a pillow on her bed. She would never let that man see her cry, not ever!

* * *

**A/N: **_Well that's it, I can't be bothered editing this or reading it over, so I just hope its okay. Sorry. Please read and review and tell me what you think. I hope you like._

_Bullet2tm  
_


	3. Chapter 3: Blossoms & Vanilla

**A/N:**_ Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added it to their fav's, story alert, etc. Please read and review this one, I want much more please!! _

**The Maid**

**Chapter 3: Blossoms & Vanilla**

* * *

_"Sakura, don't do this to me...I have to go away for a while," said the woman, however, she didn't look at her child at all. In fact, she looked away from her, like she was vermin. _

_The woman walked out the door without looking back._

_"Mama...please..."_

_The pink haired girl of 5 years, shed tears from realisation. Where was mommy going?_

_"No mama!" she ran after the woman, however, strong arms pulled her back. _

_"Sakura, this is your home now," said the blonde woman. Her eyes were kind, but held pity and sadness. Was she sad for her?_

_The pink haired child shook her head vigorously. _

_"No, mama will be back!" exclaimed the girl named Sakura, determined that she would see her again. _

_However, the woman shook her head and lifted the small girl onto a nearby table. "No kid, she's not. My name is Tsunade...I'll have to take care of you now." _

_The woman let go of the poor girl, with her fists clenched, was she angry at her? _

_"Why...why did she leave?" Tsunade couldn't look at the poor girl, for she was young herself, and at the ripe age of 25 too!_

_"I-I can't tell you, I don't know. But I can't let you go out on your own," said Tsunade finally, as she turned and smiled. "I'll try my best!"_

Sakura awoke in a sweat. Why was she having _this_ dream again? She shook the images from her mind of her child hood and got up swiftly, suddenly remembering that she had to leave today; she was fired. She blamed only herself now, as she couldn't just shut her mouth sometimes. It was just the type of person she was. When she was angry about something, she would just get more mad and yell. Only, it wasn't a friend or her mother that got the wrong end of her anger, it was Mr Sabaku...her employer.

The pinkette berrated herself further as she got changed and began her packing.

*

"I would apologize if I were you," said Naruto, shaking his head.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at the blonde. "_Excuse_ me?"

Naruto chuckled in between gulps of food. "Come on, you gotta admit, it was pretty low of you to make a point like that in front of everyone, especially that Roshi guy..."

"I agree," piped up Temari. "Besides, she's great at her job, she's funny, nice, easy to get along with, what more can I say?"

"She's hot," said Kankuro, which earned a few murmurs of agreement around the table.

Gaara had just about had enough when he slammed his fist on the table as he got up. "Enough!"

The table went silent, but more so because they were afraid, especially when he was angry. He turned to leave, when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Just apologize, why don't you just stick to a simple sorry, don't leave?" she said smiling, knowing that Gaara probably hadn't ever apologized to anyone before.

Gaara shook of her hand and left the dining area without another word. His aura was strong enough to kill, so no one bothered him. It wasn't _his_ fault she was stupid and wouldn't ask for an advancement in pay. It was _her_ fault she yelled at him, hell, he should have fired her by now! He would have done it to anyone else. In fact, he was angry! He would have yelled at everyone by now, yet, he hadn't done it...why? Was she really this much of an influence?

Gaara shook these thoughts out of his head and held his hand up to his forehead. He had a bad headache. _She_ had done this to him and he was going to yell at her and threaten her as soon as he saw...what was she doing?

He had reached her door and it was adjar. He could see her packing her things and now that he saw her, he didn't have the guts to say or do anything as he had hoped. In fact, he was intrigued. He reached a hand to the door; pushing it open and stood there watching her. He couldn't feel his head ache anymore and his face relaxed. That is what she did, she calmed him. The smell of the room wasn't like this before, it was like...blossoms and vanilla.

"What are you doing?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

Sakura turned and held back a scream. "I-Mr Sabaku," said Sakura, holding her heart and taking in a deep breath. "I-I'm fired...aren't I?" The woman looked into Gaara's jade orbs, searching them for a response. However, he turned away, keeping his cold facade.

"I said no such thing. You should have started working by now, you're late."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and could feel herself getting angry again. The _nerve_ of this man. But this time, she kept herself from saying something she would regret later. "Oh, but I..."

"And as for yesterday..." he interrupted, however, he felt something...off, so he stopped mid-sentence.

He walked toward her quickly, his gaze looking behind her. His eyes then locked with hers as he grabbed her fiercely. She was about to yell at him when something smashed through the window. Sakura felt them fall to the ground, however, she didn't feel pain from the fall, as she had envisioned. She was on top of something soft; her head against something warm.

All she could remember was her body laying on top of him on the floor. There was something that felt like sand, a strong heat and a substance in the air. But what really bothered her was his strong arms that were wrapped around her. And the fact that she liked it, she felt...safe.

_"...what the hell? Gaara?!"_

"Gaara, don't fall asleep," murmured Sakura weakly; lightly squeezing his shirt at the upper sleeve with her small fist. She now was positioned so she could see his slowly falling eye lids, but as she said this, they opened. She could vaguely see smoke and red flames behind Gaara. They were so close! Fear gripped her, however, as Gaara looked upon her, she fell unconscious.

The pain was _nothing_ compared to what he had been through. But why did he bother to save her? Because it was the right thing to do? Or...no, only because it was the right thing to do. At least, that's what he told himself until Gaara himself fell unconscious.

*

_"...it was them, I knew it!"_

_The blonde growled in anger. _

_"Naruto, calm down please! Don't change..."_

_"I-I'm fine, but they could have killed Sakura-chan. It was **her** room they threw that bomb into!"_

_"Enough. She's sleeping. Leave her here," said a familiar voice. _

_Then silence._

Sakura awoke with a start. Her head was pounding, but apart from that she was okay.

"You're awake then," said a lazy voice from beside her. It was Shikamaru. He yawned and got up from the wooden chair that was strategically placed beside her bed.

"Sh-Shikamaru?" asked Sakura, surprised to see her and not...someone else.

"Yeah, I got stuck with duty today, Naruto had to get some rest," he said, however wasn't smiling. His thoughts were filled with the next move and how they were going to deal with the whole 'situation'. First he had to figure out if she remembered what happened. "What happened yesterday?" He of course _knew_ what happened, he was seeing if Sakura could tell him.

"Uh...this isn't my room...is it?" she asked, realising she was somewhere unfamiliar.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Its a spare room."

"Oh," said Sakura. Her thoughts were muddled and foggy from yesterday, but she still remembered Gaara telling her to get to work and _not_ firing her. She remembered him moving toward her, grabbing her arms and pulling her to the ground. She remembered his arms holding her safely and lots of fire. _Gaara..._

"Where is Gaara? Is he okay?!" she exclaimed, finally remembering, the fogginess from yesterday becoming clear.

"He's fine, it was just a brick that some vandalist kids threw through the window, they're always playing pranks. Mostly because its a huge mansion and its an eye sore, that's all," said Shikamaru, playing it down, but also gauging her response.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and turned her body toward him. "There was fire..."

"You're mistaken..."

"No! I'm not! Why are you lying to me? I know what I saw!" she yelled.

Suddenly her door opened and more familiar faces filled the room. "Naruto, Temari, Ino...she's fine," said Shikamaru, taking his leave.

Sakura sighed, getting a grip for a minute. She knew he was lying but, it would have to wait. The pinkette smiled at the visitors.

"Are you okay Sakura-chan?" asked the blonde head of security. Temari eye'd Sakura a few moments before leaving swiftly.

She smiled heartily, but beneath the facade was a curious woman who was going to get to the bottom of this. "You still up for shopping Sakura?" asked Ino.

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Well, I'll see_ you _after work," said Ino, winking her left eye and then left.

A few minutes later Naruto left which gave her an opportunity.

*

Sakura got her cleaning trolley and headed up to Gaara's level. She walked down the corridor and could hear voices. She frowned as she got closer and immediately knew what it was.

The door creaked open and jade eyes were pointed at her direction immediately. However, her eyes were full of concern, and his of surprise. He hid them carefully and continued to watch TV.

Sakura smiled and sat on the side of his bed.

"So...you're watching television?" she asked, holding back humorous laughter.

"Yes. I bought it yesterday," he said evenly, his eyes still on the classic movie that was playing in black and white. The television in question was state of the art and looked very expensive.

Sakura turned her attention to Gaara, whom had bandages around his bare chest and shoulders.

"W-what happened? Shikamaru said that it was vandalist kids, but I know better. I saw fire and flashing...it was a bomb!" she exclaimed.

She reached her hand out to touch his bandages, but he flinched away.

"Yes. I have enemies, what rich and powerful business man doesn't?" he asked, taking his eyes off the screen to look into her emerald orbs.

Sakura narrowed her eyes knowing that he was leaving out something.

"I shouldn't _have_ to justify myself to you," said Gaara finally, after a few moments silence. "Which I'm not, I'm only telling you that because you were involved."

Sakura sighed and focused her attention to the movie. It was the romance from the other day, she did love that one. But why was _he_ watching it?

"So why are you watching television?" asked Sakura.

Gaara didn't respond first off, thinking of something hurtful to say. "Its none of your concern."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly in shock. _Of course...why am I here? I work here, I'm a maid for crying out aloud!_ she thought, however, her thoughts and feelings weren't in agreement. Yes, it was true she was an employee here, not his friend. And here she was talking to him as if they were. But the way he said that it was no concern to Sakura hurt her, should it bother her? He was right of course, he always was. Her feelings were being expressed on her face and he could see that. Gaara looked away and back to the TV.

Sakura got off his bed and the smell of blossoms and vanilla left him. "Well, I _am_ just a lowly maid, aren't I?" she said before storming off to do her duties as usual. She was late anyway, she had just been so worried about him. Her saviour. But perhaps it was just an automated response to save her like that, perhaps he regretted doing that now.

Gaara watched her leave with no expression, however, his thoughts were filled with hatred toward himself. But he had to do it...her presence was...distracting. And if more attacks were to break out, he wouldn't forgive himself if she became a casualty.

Her voice had been cold and full of anger when she left so he knew that he had hurt her. He felt something in his stomach churn, is this what they called guilt? Gaara couldn't remember even feeling guilt before he met Sakura. And he hated her for it, with a passion. He reached over to the bedside table, picked up the remote and turned the television off.

"Damn her..." he said under his breath and he threw the remote across the room. The force of the throw caused the remote to smash against the wall and shattered into tiny pieces. Ever since he hired her she had been nothing but trouble.

First he had overheard her cursing about him, then second she began to watch the television in the entertainment room which _normally _he would have fired anyone else right away, however, he couldn't! Third she yelled at him after the incident in the meeting yesterday and then fourth today when she had willingly come into his room and actually sat right on his bed. As if she was his friend...as if she belonged by his side!

And the more he thought about it, the more he found that the most logical solution to all this would be to fire her. But as he was about to get up and do what he thought would be the most logical thing to do, he caught a wiff of where she had been sitting. Blossoms and vanilla. And in that moment he knew, he couldn't do it. She was so damn...annoying, but, he couldn't get enough of her. How could one woman do this to him? He would have to keep his distance...

* * *

**A/N: **_I know, this one is a bit shorter. There was more I wanted to say, however, I think its best left for next time. As you can tell, Gaara is somewhat more talkative in this one, however, his main stoic/cold character is still there. But if someone like that is put in the room with someone like Sakura who boosts his happiness, wouldnt you think he would talk more?_

_Please read and review._

Bullet2tm


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